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Shanice Lim made it possible, explains Business Insider. At 23 years old, this young chef from Sinagapu, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, landed her dream job: cooking in one of Singapore’s restaurants. Day after day, 16 For several hours of the day, Lim served dishes of the best gourmet cuisine.
However, Lim’s dreams went beyond serving wonderful food in an upscale establishment. She wanted to be her own boss and make her flavors and food available to the average Singaporean. So, after only a few years at the Zen restaurant, Lim gave up his task. and opened a food stall, where he now spends his days cooking classic Malaysian dishes at moderate prices.
According to Business Insider, Lim was encouraged as a child by her grandmother, who cooked Singaporean food with her. I wanted to be a chef from a very young age. Lim pursued his dream, ignoring his detractors and adding one of his first culinary jobs in a hotel kitchen when he was just 17 years old, who told him that “women shouldn’t be in the kitchen,” according to the online food site HungryGoWhere.
Lim graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Singapore just in time for the Covid lockdowns of 2020. Unable to work in the restaurant business, Lim took his time to work from home, promoting dishes inspired by his grandmother’s recipes. He called his business “Two Hands, Two Woks. “
As the pandemic subsided, Lim found a job at Zen, one of three Michelin-starred restaurants in Singapore. But Lim soon discovered that he didn’t like working at such a prestigious restaurant, Business Insider reported.
Lim told Business Insider: “I’ve learned that the pitch is the ultimate in good food, that it requires a lot of concentration and that we can’t mess things up. There’s a lot of pressure. . . “I wanted to do everything that wasn’t gastronomy. “
She explained to HungryGoWhere, “Through those reports and what I learned from my deceased grandmother, I knew that I was looking to continue my hobby and interest in the local food scene, especially street vendor food. “
So LemakLim has raised his thoughts with his father who, according to Business Insider, has invested S$35,000 in his dream business, a food stall in a kopitiam or food court in Singapore.
The stall featured recipes Lim had learned from his grandmother, adding nasi lemak, a Malaysian recipe for coconut rice served with fish and poultry dishes. She named her little one “So LeMak,” which food historian Khir Johari explained to Business Insider. the call of the rich, creamy flavour that characterises many Malaysian dishes.
“Nasi lemak is a very flexible dish and very Singaporean. I can prepare and play with other dishes and components,” Lim explained in a comment to HungryGoWhere.
It’s not easy. After opening So Lemak, Lim went from working alongside Singapore’s most no-nonsense chefs to promoting his products independently. Everything is a challenge: the environment, workload, and finances, Business Insider shares.
Working alone, Lim found herself preparing a bunch of food without any help, adding marinating more than 130 pounds of bird wings at one point. And unlike the air-conditioned Michelin kitchen he’d left behind, Lim’s concession stand had only one fan. in a country where temperatures reach 90 degrees.
“Every day, internally and externally, I just worked. I was mentally and physically tired and that’s why I felt pressured to not be able to grow my business,” Lim told Business Insider. “Working in a restaurant, I didn’t sweat. But in a Street Vendor, it was so hot that I got health problems once a month, I learned that I had to take care of my body, especially when it was still a one-man show.
But after nearly a year of work, So Lemak was so successful that Lim was able to hire two more members to help him. Today, it serves about three hundred dishes a day.
Michelin-starred street foodLemak has managed to succeed in a competitive market, although the price of nasi lemak is a bit higher than the average street vendor, as its version is incredibly rich and flavorful.
Elizabeth Chan, a culinary content creator from Singapore, told Business Insider that she was inspired by the flavors of So Lemak. “It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten such fragrant coconut rice,” Chan explained. “The bird’s wing is also very good. It’s very crunchy and you can just flavor the shrimp. “
Lim told Business Insider that she was satisfied with her new life. “I wanted to be my own boss,” Lim said. I believe that my efforts will pay off, namely the advantages of running my own business. “
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